What to say to the Police
NOTHING!
Don’t say anything to the Police, ever!Whether you are innocent or guilty, you should remain silent. When the Police tell you that “anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law”, they mean business. Anything you say can never help you and can only hurt you. It may hurt you a little bit, or it may hurt you a lot, but it will not help you. So why say anything? Experience shows over and over - more people talk their way into jail than talk their way out of jail.
Remember this key fact: It doesn’t matter what you did. All that matters now is what the authorities think you did and what they can prove you did.
So, don’t help the Police prove anything. Experience shows that many cases that could have been won, are only lost because of the defendant’s confession.
Despite anything they say, the Police are not trying to help you; they are trying to convict you. The Police will try every trick in the book to get you to talk. The Police will tell you that telling what you have done will “make you feel better”. Don’t do it, unless incriminating yourself and being convicted makes you “feel better”.
Ok, then if I am the suspect of a crime and the Police Question me, what should I do?
You don’t have to be rude or disrespectful. Just say that you mean no disrespect but wish to exercise your right to remain silent. Tell them “I don’t want to be questioned”.
Say the magic words
“I want to speak to an Attorney”
As soon as you say that you want a lawyer, the Police must cease all questioning.
For some background, there are 3 types of Police encounters with citizens:
1) Consensual Encounters – This is when the Police, without any stated suspicion of you, simply say hello to you or ask you questions. It is a consensual encounter because you consent to talk to them. You are entitled to ignore them or tell them you don’t wish to talk.
2) Detentions – This is when the Police stop you and, for a time, you would be reasonable to infer that you are not free to leave.
3) Arrests (Custody) – This is when the Police take you into their custody, usually accompanied by telling you that you are under arrest, hand-cuffing you, and/or physically confining you to their Patrol Car or jail cell.
The nature of your encounter with the Police may later determine whether your statements to the Police can be used against you in court. Generally, Police only need to Mirandize you when arresting you and can only use your statements against you if the Detention or Arrest was legal (i.e. did not violate your constitutional rights). Police can always use your statements made during consensual encounters against you in court. The point of the above is that there are complex criminal and constitutional laws governing when and how your statements can be used against you in court. However, if you don’t talk to the police, the nature of your police encounter is irrelevant; your attorney will only have to litigate the nature of the police encounter if the prosecution wants to use your incriminating statements (or the evidence they lead to) against you.
Conclusion
Don’t talk to the Police. Since, your statements to the Police can only hurt you, just remain silent!!